Even an elite coach would surely struggle at Old Trafford amid the executive chaos and with an unfit, uneven squad

In January 2014 the 13th series of Celebrity Big Brother aired in the UK, the show so popular that its run time was extended by five days before a public vote anointed Jim Davidson the winner. Then, two years later when Brexit happened, people wondered where their tolerant country had gone, lamenting the ephemeral spirit of London 2012 as though the 2011 riots were some kind of fever dream, not a desperate response to decades of structural and institutional racism exacerbated by the cruelty of unnecessary austerity.

The truth is that if security is quickly upended, it was built on quicksand to begin with. Which brings us to Manchester United, easing effortlessly from an uplifting third-place finish to some of the worst football in their history.

• Manchester United captain expected to return to lineup

• Squad have positive meeting with under-pressure coach

Michael Carrick and Bruno Fernandes held clear-the-air talks on Tuesday after the Manchester United captain criticised the manager’s tactics last week, with him now expected to start at Chelsea on Saturday.

Carrick and Fernandes met before training on Tuesday morning at United’s Carrington training base. The 32-year-old, it is understood, offered the manager assurances that he is fully committed and intent on trying to turn the team’s season around. There was also a squad meeting with Carrick at which the rest of the players made the same vow.